1. Unit 5 TEXT I The Light at the End of the Chunnel

2. 1802 1876 1882 1922 1945 1973 A French engineer put forward a proposal for a tunnel. Extensive geological survey was carried out. Work began on the Channel Tunnel, but was soon halted because of military objections. Work started again, but political objections brought it to an end. The project began to receive serious attention. The project was again launched, but soon folded due to financial problems. Project of the Chunnel

3. 1986 1987 1994 British and French governments signed a treaty to co-construct the Chunnel. Construction of the Chunnel began. Queen Elizabeth II and President Francois Mitterrand opened the Chunnel officially. Project of the Chunnel

4. Skimming Decide which of the following statements best sums up the text. The French and the English people seemed none too happy about the Chunnel and there would be more people going to France via the Chunnel than there would be people going to Britain. In spite of the adverse sentiments expressed by the English and the French people, the Chunnel that joins Britain and France was finally completed and, looking back, the breakthrough that took place several years ago was a moving scene.

5. Organization PartParas.Main ideas I1-4 British people’s opinion about the Chunnel II5-6 French people’s opinion about the Chunnel III7-9 The significance of the Chunnel IV10-23 The breakthrough ceremony of the Chunnel

6. What does the title mean? Can you spot a wordplay in the title? As an English idiom, “light at the end of the tunnel” means the prospect of success or relief after strenuous effort. “Light at the end of the Chunnel” is a parody of that English idiom, suggesting the subject matter of this article as well as the writer’s attitude toward the issue.

7. keep/have/wear/maintain a stiff upper lip to face misfortune bravely and resolutely to suppress the display of any emotion. It has traditionally been used to describe a virtue of British people, who are sometimes perceived by other cultures as being reserved.

8. For the first time since the last ice age, England was about to be linked to France. What does “ice age” mean? How do you understand the phrase “for the first time since the last ice age”? What figure of speech is used in this sentence? “Ice age” is any point of several periods when glaciers covered more of the earth’s surface than they do today. It is believed that all of the early development of humans came during the last ice age and civilization has come into existence as its result. “For the first time since the last ice age” therefore means “for the first time since the world began to exist”. Clearly this is an exaggeration.

9. "I'd rather England become the 51st state of the U. S. A. than get tied up to there" Here “there” refers to ______. In this sentence “get tied up” means _____. What does the sentence mean? The Brits trembled at the thought of having to be linked to France. The accident tied up traffic. I’m tied up in a meeting until 3 pm. The phone was tied up for an hour. Mother told me that Max and Jane will get tied up next week.

10. would rather I would rather watch TV at home than go to the cinema. Tom would rather/sooner read than talk ． I’d rather you went now. I’d rather you came next Saturday. I’d rather you hadn’t done that.

11. On the other side of the Channel, the entente was scarcely more cordiale. understanding, agreement warm and sincere; friendly The entente cordiale is a series of agreements signed on 8 April 1904 between the United Kingdom and the French Republic. How to understand the sentence?

12. Understanding the sentence The understanding on the other side of the Channel was hardly more friendly; in other words, the understanding is just as unfriendly.

13. All they eat is ketchup. Ketchup (or Catsup in American English and Canadian English or sometimes tomato sauce) It is a sweet-and-sour condiment typically made from tomatoes, vinegar, sugar. Ketchup is often used with french fries, hamburgers, sandwiches and grilled or fried meat.

14. A tiny explosion of air from pursed lips She pursed her lips with dislike.

15. then the coup de grace "blow of mercy“/ a decisive finishing blow

16. by grace of one of the engineering feats of the century charming, elegance, goodness, mercy due to, by the favor of, thanks to The usual phrase is by the grace of God, meaning “owing to the favor shown by God”. It was only by the grace of God that we survived.

17. by grace of one of the engineering feats of the century, for richer or poorer, better or worse, England and France are getting hitched. Whether one likes it or not; whatever happens. He hitched his donkey to a tree. hitched a ride to the rally. We got hitched last weekend. (slang) Paraphrase the sentence.

18. Paraphrase Thanks to one of the remarkable construction achievements of the 20 th century, whether one likes it or not, England and France are on the way of getting geographically connected. Why would the author use “for richer or poorer, better or worse” ?

19. “For richer or poorer, better or worse” is part of a typical wedding vow, and “getting hitched” is slang for “getting married”. With these expressions, the writer manages to establish a comparison between two countries that are linked together by the Chunnel and two people who are tied by marriage.

20. are scheduled to inaugurate the English Channel Tunnel ("Chunnel" for short) I haven't scheduled the coming week yet. It will be finished ahead of schedule if nothing prevents. on schedule /behind schedule to inaugurate a president to inaugurate a new immigration policy. to inaugurate a new era begin formally, launch, start, undertake

21. Opening of the Channel Tunnel by Queen Elizabeth II and French President François Mitterrand Eurostar

22. sweeping aside 200 years of failed cross- Channel-link schemes He swept all the objections aside. The Channel Tunnel Project had been discussed between Britain and France on governmental levels for almost two hundred years. It was in 1802 that the first proposal for a Channel Tunnel was put forward the nineteenth century and for the most part of the twentieth century. It did not come to fruition until the last decade of the twentieth century.

23. 1,000 years of historical rift, and 8,000 years of geographic divide. alienation, breach, break, fracture, gap Beginning with Norman Conquest in 1066 until the early nineteenth century, there had been incessant conflicts between Great Britain and France. All in all there was a rift between the two countries for about one thousand years.

24. The 31-mile-long Chunnel is really three parallel tunnels: two for trains and a service tunnel. There are two single-track rail tunnels, and a third smaller service tunnel as an emergency exit. The service tunnel is ventilated, so whenever a cross- passage door is opened, air will flow from the service tunnel into the running tunnel.

25. The Chunnel rewrites geography, at least in the English psyche. A characteristic of the feminine psyche is to seek approval from others. someone's mind, or their deepest feelings

26. Significance (changes) It swept aside 200 years of failed cross-Channel-link schemes, 1000 years of historical rift, and 8000 years of geographic divide. Eurostar passenger trains will provide through service: London to Paris in 3 hours; London to Brussels in 3 hours, ten minutes. In spite of the adverse sentiments expressed by the English and the French people, the Chunnel that joins Britain and France was finally completed and, looking back, the breakthrough that took place several years ago was a moving scene.

27. Part II (Para. 10-23) This part describes the work spot witnessed by the reporter in the tunnel project.

28. It's June 28, 1991, and I'm packed into a construction workers' train … In this part, the author talks about _____.

29. The concrete walls await final installation of the power, water, and communication lines She was waiting for a bus (NOT waiting a bus). We are awaiting your instructions.

30. "Makes you appreciate British Rail," someone jokes. How to understand the sentence?

31. Understanding the sentence This remark has an ironic sense of humor. British Rail passenger trains are often complained by passengers for being noisy and uncomfortable. However, after one takes the construction workers’ train which is extremely noisy, he would come to like the British Rail. In other words, the construction workers’ train screeched in such a dreadful way that by comparison, the noise made by ordinary passenger trains does not sound unpleasant at all.

32. Now we're staring at the 30-foot-diameter face of the French tunnel boring machine (TBM), "Catherine." A tunnel boring machine (TBM) is also known as a "mole“. They can bore through anything from hard rock to sand. Tunnel boring machines are used as an alternative to drilling and blasting (D&B) methods in rock and conventional "hand mining" in soil. TBMs have the advantages of limiting the disturbance to the surrounding ground and producing a smooth tunnel wall. radius (radiuses or radii)

33. French workers wear chic, well-cut, taupe jumpsuits with red and blue racing stripes down the sleeves. fashionable, well-tailored, one piece garment combining top and trousers in dark brownish grey.

34. The British uniform is pure grunge: baggy, bright orange. In this paragraph, the author makes a ______.

35. Looking up, I imagine 180 feet of Channel above my head — ferries, tankers, a Dover sole or two.... 180 feet = 54.86400 米 鲽鱼

36. The grating of the TBM interrupts my reverie. Its cutterhead — a huge wheel with tungsten-tipped teeth — chews into the last trace of rock separating England from France. to make an unpleasant, harsh sound I hate the sound of chalk grating against the blackboard. personification

37. Several Frenchmen scramble through. She scrambled down the tree as quickly as she could. Thousands of people will be scrambling for tickets. The words in each sentence are scrambled. scramble an egg to move or climb hurriedly, especially on the hands and knees.

38. Champagne corks pop, and French workers hug British counterparts. The lid popped open and juice spilled all over the floor. Hasn't Bill popped the question yet? I didn't mean to say it like that - it just popped out. Her name keeps popping up in the newspapers.

39. "So many," I say, turning to a French official. "And there are 56 million more behind them," he replies. How to understand the official’s reply? “56 million” refers to the whole population of France. And soon the whole French population will take the Chunnel transport and come over to visit Britain.

40. Apr è s le tunnel, le deluge? after

41. Hmmmm. Why do the French visit Britain? For the food? The weather? Fashion? How to understand this paragraph?

42. Dictation Listen to the following passage. Altogether the passage will be read to you four times. During the first reading, which will be read at normal speed, listen and try to understand the meaning. For the second and third readings, the passage will be read sentence by sentence, or phrase by phrase, with intervals of 15 seconds. The last reading will be read at normal speed again and during this time you should check your work.

43. Throughout the long period, the French showed noticeably more enthusiasm for the Channel tunnel than the British. This may seem curious, seeing that France already has many land frontiers, whereas for Britain a tunnel would be its first fixed link with the Continent, and thus more valuable. But the British were held back by their insularity, and especially by fears that an invader might be able to make use of the scheme. Happily, all that is past. Today Britain’s politicians and business circles have shown themselves as eager as the French. Those who take a wider and longer-term view believe that these possible drawbacks for Britain will be far outweighed by the advantages. Passengers by express train will be able to do the journey at least an hour faster than by air, city centre to city centre, and without any tedious waits at airports. Also the fares will be cheaper. So the tunnel will probably stimulate a vast increase in tourism and business travel between London and Paris.